Icarus
by caylender
Summary: Wally had always hated English class, especially Greek mythology, but it's funny how his life was similar to a Greek myth. Please R


All right, this is something I threw together last night that I hope you all enjoy it. :)

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, I don't own Young Justice.

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"Okay, now can anyone tell me the myth of Icarus?" Miss Plum, the Central City High School sophomore English teacher asked her less-than enthused class. She actually loved Greek mythology and thought that it was almost a shame that she had to waste it on her regular English students. At least, her honors and her advanced placement students could feign interest in the material.

As she predicted, collectively the class began to construe a sudden interest in their textbooks, consistently avoiding eye contact with her.

She mentally sighed. Who to choose? Ahh, yes, he will do. "Wally?" The red head jerked his head up at his name. "Would you like to tell us about Icarus?"

"Uh sure, Miss Plum," Wally mumbled. "It starts with Icarus' father, Daedalus. He builds the labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur, but after it's built, the King of Crete imprisons him and Icarus in a tower to prevent the labyrinth's secrets from getting out to the public."

_ Wally and the team are in a tough situation. They are battling the Injustice League, but this time they don't have the Helmet of Fate to magically resolve the situation. So with Superboy absent from this mission, with an explosion taking both Kaldur and M'gann down with severe dehydration and extensive burns, and with Artemis loosing most of her arrows, Wally feels brutal paroxysms of anxiety clawing away at his gut; they compliment the strong hunger pangs, courtesy of his accelerated metabolism. _

_ He glances at Robin beside him as they crouch behind their little barricade. The only thing that separates them from their enemies is a four-foot tall, concrete wall. There is something in Robin's expression - the furrowed brows, the down turned lips - that tells him he is right to be apprehensive. They are screwed, trapped, and would die soon. _

"But Daedalus is clever. He is a great inventor, so he crafts a pair of wings out of feathers and wax. He tests the first pair himself. Then he makes a pair for Icarus and teaches him how to fly." Wally paused.

_Robin signals to Wally and Wally nodds in agreement. By no means is it a good plan, but under the circumstances… at least, they won't go out in a whimper. _

_ Three_

_ Two_

_ One_

_ Robin springs over the wall, Wally sprints around the wall, and Artemis pokes her head above the wall, providing cover fire. And even after a few moments, they are actually still alive. _

_ Maniac laughter stops them cold. _

_ Wally's eyes instantly find the bomb that the Joker wheels out behind him. _

_ No. Not with a whimper but with a bang._

"Daedalus warns Icarus to be careful when he flies and that he was only to follow in Daedalus' path."

_ So there they are: Robin, Artemis, and him, weighed down by their fallen teammates, abandoned to die by their enemies, and with a bomb that only has five seconds to go. _

_ Wally knows what he has to do for their escape, for their survival. Before Robin and Artemis can say anything, Wally grabs the bomb, which seems impossibly heavy and runs. _

"Daedalus also warns Icarus not to fly too high, because the heat of the sun would melt the wax, or too low, because the sea would soak the feathers."

_Wally feels his feet begin to go numb from his high speed. He only has a few seconds to get the bomb away from Gotham City. He begins to run faster. Now he's over water._

_ Barry always warned him about the dangers of a wrong calculation when it came to situations like this. If he lets go too soon, then innocent people could die in the explosion, but if he hangs on for too long, he would get caught in the explosion, too. _

"So Icarus and Daedalus get pretty far, but Icarus gets too absorbed in the flight. He loves the freedom of flight so much that he wants to go higher and higher, so he begins to soar towards the sun."

_ It is a delicate balance. He has to hold the bomb as steadily as he can. He has to focus on his route because any misstep would result in his tripping, and he would never regain his footing on the open sea. _

_ However, for the first time that night, Wally feels powerful; he knows the potential destructiveness of the bomb, and there he is, redirecting its force. He holds so much power in his hands, and he can control it. He feels each millisecond pass and knows that each millisecond signifies his friends' safety. _

"Its heat softens the wax that holds the feathers together, so they fall off." Wally paused again, ran a hand through his hair, and cleared his throat. "And Icarus falls into the sea and drowns."

"Thanks Wally"

_ Wally is running faster than sound, faster maybe than light. He has broken his top speed._

_ Wally takes a peek at the timer. _

_ Less than a second._

_ No time to think. _

_ He drops the bomb and turns around. A spray of water flies. The bomb seems to hover over the water. He picks up speed, and he is flying. I've never gone this fast, he thinks. _

_ Then the bomb explodes. _

_ And Wally is flying. _

_ The heat radiates over him. _

_ The explosion is a bright ball of fire._

_ Parts of his uniform melt._

_ His skin peels._

_ And he is flying away from the sun._

_ I held it too long, he thinks. I ran too far with it._

_ He bounces over the surface of the water before he crashes into the waves. _

_ He sinks, and his eyes close. _

_ Thanks Wally._

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